Roach: Marquez will be more hittable and not so much a counter-puncher – Boxing News
Hall of Famer trainer Freddie Roach believes Juan Manuel Marquez will be more vulnerable than ever before during his fourth fight against Filipino fight sensation Manny Pacquiao. Roach, who trains Pacquiao, believes it is time for his fighter to score a
knockout victory over Marquez, the finally conclude the rivalry between the two.
“Marquez will be more hittable and not so much a counter-puncher. I think we need a knockout to secure [Pacquiao's] No. 1 spot in the world. He needs to be impressive and a knockout would be impressive,” said Roach in his recent interview.
“In the first [fight with Marquez, Pacquiao] was aggressive in the beginning of that fight. In the second fight we had one knockdown and in the third fight we had none. He just lost that killer instinct. In the first fight he was trying to knock him out,
but Marquez is very resilient also.”
Pacquiao has already faced Marquez thrice. The first fight between the two ended up in a tie, with Marquez finding himself in a state of shock. Back then, Marquez was at the peak of stardom whereas Pacquiao was on the rise. Since Marquez was a counter puncher,
his style complemented Pacquiao’s fighting and so none could win.
The second fight was won by Pacquiao via unanimous decision but Marquez was not convinced that he lost to the Filipino fight king and so a third fight was arranged between the two. To Marquez’s dismay, Pacquiao once again won the fight but via majority decision.
This time, not just Marquez but even fans were disappointed with the decision and so they booed for the Filipino. It was the first time Pacquiao was booed by the crowd and so he decided he would do it again to prove his mettle.
Now, both fighters are scheduled to meet in the ring for the fourth time on December 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Both of them are motivated to bring an epic conclusion to their rivalry via knockout. However, Roach believes it will be Manny who will
be the victor once again.
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